MJ was born, and raised for the first 10 years of his life in Iloilo City, Philippines. Upon his family immigrating to Canada in 2007, he and his family found themselves in the care of Emmanuel Christian Community. After finishing the last few years of elementary school and all of secondary school, he earned his practical nursing license. During his time as an LPN, his heart grew for those battling with mental health and addiction challenges. In order to better serve this population, he is currently in the process of finishing his BSN. 

Since 2007, he has been raised by Emmanuel Christian Community and hopes to give back to the community that has fostered his faith. He has been mainly involved in the children’s ministry as a Sunday school teacher and with the youth ministry as one of the youth leaders. Sometimes, you can see him helping out the worship team with vocals and attempting to slow down his speech while hosting Sunday morning services (lol). 

He finds relief from stress by going to the gym, hiking and playing basketball. Nonetheless, he also enjoys the quiet serenity of daily devotionals and reading various books while sipping cheap instant coffee.